


A Test of Courage in the Woods

by ericsonclan



Series: We are Monsters, We are Proud AU [28]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Brownies, Crushes, Cyclops - Freeform, Dryads - Freeform, Dullahans, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Frankenstein - Freeform, Gen, Gorgons (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Harpies, Hijinks & Shenanigans, M/M, Minotaurs, Nighttime, Secret Relationship, Selkies, Test of Courage, Vampires, Walks In The Woods, Werewolves, fire elemental
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:53:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26844709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: Some of the monsters decided to do a test of courage in the woods late one night.
Relationships: Aasim/Ruby (Walking Dead: Done Running), Brody/Mitch (Walking Dead: Done Running), Clementine/Louis (Walking Dead: Done Running), Jesse/James (Walking Dead: Suffer The Children), Marlon/Sophie (Walking Dead: Done Running), Omar & Minnie (Walking Dead: Done Running), Prisha/Violet (Walking Dead: Done Running)
Series: We are Monsters, We are Proud AU [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699969
Kudos: 6





	A Test of Courage in the Woods

“So, remind me why we’re in the woods in the middle of the night?” Violet looked over at Clementine with crossed arms.

“Because we all thought it would be fun to do a test of courage,” Clementine replied simply.

“Yeah, that’s right!” Louis jumped forward with his hands outstretched. One of his hands nearly popped off but luckily the young frankenstein caught in time. “It’s gonna be fun!” 

Clementine smiled over at the frankenstein, her nose crinkling in amusement.

“Yeah, nothing bonds monsters like a test of courage,” Sophie smiled over the werewolf.

“Sure,” Violet responded. 

“So, why these woods?” Prisha had a curious expression on her face.

“Well,” Clementine took a step forward, “Rumor has it that in these very woods a killer resurfaced a few years ago. All the humans warned young and old to steer clear of this place, but especially teens who seemed to be the killer’s true targets.” Clementine tried her best to amp up the spookiness in her voice. 

It seemed a few monsters were falling into her story. Brody moved closer to Mitch while Minnie seemed to stay close to Sophie. But perhaps the biggest reaction to her tale thus far was from the young frankenstein who let out a fit of giggles.

“Hahahaha, that’s a good one Clem!” Louis had his hands on his knees and wiped away a mock tear. When he looked up, however, his nose scrunched up in confusion. “Why is everyone staring at me? Is one of my limbs missing?’ Louis spun around widely, his dreadlocks bouncing this way and that with his speed.

“No, we're just confused.” James’ soft voice broke everyone’s attention away from the frankenstein and towards the cyclops. “Why were you laughing?”

“Because killers aren’t real,” Louis stated it in a matter of fact tone as if he had just given the most basic of common sense. 

All the other monsters glanced around at each other. 

“What?”

“Killers are real,” Omar commented as he pushed his way to the front. “There have been many unsolved cases over the years all throughout West Virginia.”

Louis’ face became deathly pale. “What? I just thought it was something humans added to the movies to make them scarier.”

“No, they’re real.” Minnie scratched the ground with her talons.

Louis stood frozen for a second until he felt Clementine’s hand on his shoulder. 

“Louis, if you want to sit out of the test of courage, it’s okay.”

“No!” Louis shook his head violently back and forth. “I’m gonna do it!”

“Alright,” Clementine searched the frankenstein’s face for a moment then continued on with her story. “The tale goes that the killer lures teens into the woods at night to kill them and finally have company in this forest,” Clementine gestured at the woods. “Human or monster, he doesn’t care as long as he has his victim.”

Suddenly Aasim’s flames burst out of him, shooting high in the air and turning a light, faint blue. Ruby and Marlon jumped back from the fire elemental.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Aasim’s flames faltered down but still held their color. 

“Maybe it would be a better idea if you walked outside the perimeter of the woods,” Prisha offered. “It would be a shame if we caused a forest fire.”

“Yeah, gonna have to give you the boot, buddy,” Louis flashed an apologetic smile.

“Maybe you’re right,” Aasim seemed a bit disheartened. “But it’s rude to completely exclude Ruby and myself from the test of courage!”

“What does Ruby have to do with it?” Brody poked her head out to look over at the fire elemental. 

“N-nothing. Forget I said anything,” Aasim’s fire round his cheeks crackled and popped as he looked away from the group. But that only seemed to cause the group to become more interested. 

Louis especially seemed invested in the potential romance between the fire elemental and dryad. “Oh, do tell, Aasim. Do you like Ruby?”

“What? I… ummm.” Aasim’s flames were a deeper blue now.

“Now y’all leave him be,” Ruby butted into the circle around Aasim.

“Why are you getting so defensive, Ruby?” Mitch smirked over at the dryad. Everyone was jumping into the conversation except Marlon who sidestepped the group and made his way to Sophie whose head was tilted as she listened intently to the heated debate. With all this talk about crushes, he figured he might as well see where he stood with the harpy.

“Sophie,” Marlon tapped Sophie’s shoulder, causing her feathers to stick up and ruffle. She looked over, a pleasant smile appearing on her lips when she noticed the dullahan. “I just wanted to ask, well…” Marlon scratched the back of his neck. He was chickening out. What if she didn’t feel the same? “ What are we?” Marlon froze when he realized what he said. His hands held the sides of his head to keep it in place; he could feel it slipping. 

Sophie seemed to take the question seriously, debating on what to answer when she finally chose her response. “We’re bros,” Sophie hit her fist to her heart and then gave a sideways peace sign. 

“Oh, yeah.” Marlon looked down; he could feel his heart tightening. He kept his view on the ground for only a few seconds before forcing a big smile. “The best!”

“Hell yeah!” Sophie extended her fist which Marlon met in an instant. The harpy chirped happily when he did so. “Wanna partner up for the test of courage?”

“Sure.” Marlon smiled at the harpy before looking over at the group that was settling down. It seemed that Clementine had shut down all the badgering that was directed at Ruby and Aasim and was working on what pairs would go into the woods together. After a few minutes the pairs were decided. Mitch and Brody along with Marlon and Sophie would go through the furthest entrance. Violet and Prisha as well as Minnie and Omar would take the middle. And Clementine and Louis with Jesse and James would take the left entrance. 

“You sure you’re okay with staying outside the forest?” Brody glanced back at Ruby. “You were really excited about it.”

“Aww, don’t worry about me. I just wanted to give Aasim some company and to make sure he didn’t get lost going around the long way.”

“Alright,” Brody gave Ruby a quick hug, “See you at the finish line.” Ruby returned the hug and soon the selkie was off, jogging over to Mitch and intertwining her fingers with his. 

“Okay everyone, good luck!” Clementine called out before walking forward into the woods with Louis who seemed a fair mix of excited and nervous. 

Aasim and Ruby watched the others disappear into the forest, not talking until they were all gone. “Are you sure, Ruby?” Aasim glanced over at the dryad. “I know how much you love walking amongst the trees.”

“That’s very sweet of you, Aasim, but I’m alright. I can still walk beside the trees and get to be with you.”

Aasim’s fire grew at those words, a happy smile on his face as he reached into his fireproof messenger bag. After a few seconds he pulled out the container of fireproof blue gel, handing it over to Ruby. She covered her hand in it first before Aasim did the same. Cautiously they held each other’s hands. Excited, giddy smiles overtook their faces when it worked. It was a miracle each time to simply be able to hold each other’s hands. Ruby and Aasim started their stroll along the perimeter of the woods. Ruby walked alongside the trees, her free hand brushing against the low hanging branches while she talked with Aasim.

“I almost blew it today,” Aasim shook his head. “They were quite persistent.”

“They were giving us both a hard time, but we are hiding our relationship.” Ruby glanced over at her boyfriend who looked saddened by the whole thing.

“I know. I just want to make sure that we can make this work without hurting you.” The flames on Aasim started to pick up height, swirling and dancing in the air. “That and I have to talk to my parents and you have to with yours and-” Aasim stopped when he felt Ruby’s hand give his a gentle squeeze.

“It's gonna be alright. We’ll figure it out. Together.”

“Together,” Aasim took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. Let’s focus on our time together.”

“Sounds good to me,” Ruby swayed her and Aasim’s hands slightly as they continued their walk. “So, any idea who’s gonna reach the finish line first?”

“Probably Jesse and James or maybe Prisha and Violet.” Aasim placed his hand on his chin. 

“That would make sense. But it could always be an underdog team like Mitch and Brody.”

“Perhaps or…. No.” Aasim shook his head.

“What?”

“I was going to say Sophie and Marlon but Marlon can get spooked easily and Sophie can well…”

“Be a bit of a scatterbrain.” Ruby chuckled. “She sure can. I bet she’s gonna get distracted by the woods.”

\----

“Oh, hold on Marlon,” Sophie’s voice made the dullahan stop as he looked to see the harpy fly up and sink her talons into a tree branch. With a few happy tweets she let herself fall upside down and swing back and forth. 

Marlon chuckled and looked at the harpy. “What are you doing, Soph?”

“Sorry, I just needed to do it once. I can’t resist a good tree branch. But I promise this will be the only one.” Sophie gave an apologetic chirp as she shook out her feathers. A few loose ones fell to the ground. Marlon shook his head but he had a happy smile on his face. A smile that made the harpy’s heart race quicken. Sophie stared at the dullahan for a moment. Why had she been so stupid? She had been given the perfect chance to share her feelings. But instead she said they were bros. Marlon seemed happy with it though. So maybe her feelings wouldn’t be reciprocated. 

Sophie shook herself out of her thoughts and swung herself upwards. She would just be the best bro ever then. Flying over and landing beside Marlon, she continued through the dark woods with him. They walked in content silence for a few minutes. Both of them didn’t seem too spooked yet. Although they would have to be careful to make sure Marlon’s head didn’t fall on the ground whenever the spooks did get to them. Sophie glanced over at the dullahan then back at the forest. “I got worms.”

“Excuse me?” Marlon looked over in confusion.

“In my pocket,” Sophie dug her hand into her pocket and revealed some pink worms that squirmed in her hands. “Y’know, for a snack. Want some?” She held out her hand with a casual grin.

“Oh, no thanks,” Marlon replied then glanced away. 

Sophie looked at the dullahan then back at the worms. _Great going, Sophie! That’s not how to be a good bro! Of course he didn’t want worms. He probably thinks eating bugs is weird._

“That’s cool. I’m not hungry either.” Sophie lied, stuffing the worms back into her pockets. Before Marlon could speak otherwise to her statement, the pair was cut off by the loud growling sound of the harpy’s stomach. Marlon and Sophie looked down at her stomach then at each other. Sophie gave a nervous laugh.

“Wow, ummmm….” Sophie’s eyes searched desperately for anything she could use as a topic. “Let’s take the right path!” She pointed her finger towards the right side of the woods. 

“You sure?”

“Yep, right is always right! Right?” Sophie flashed a goofy smile.

Marlon gave a good natured laugh. “Okay. Y’know you could always fly above the tree line and find the best route.”

Sophie felt like an idiot for not thinking of that obvious solution. “Nah,” She waved a hand dismissively. “Where’s the excitement in that? Besides, it’s more fun to wander the woods with you,” She playfully nudged the dullahan’s shoulder, “Bro.” 

“Right,” Marlon led the way, leaving Sophie alone with her thoughts. The harpy glanced up to the sky and wondered if it was the better call to just fly up and see the finish line.

\------

“I think I see it,” Omar glanced up at Minnie. A few loose red feathers fluttered past Omar and down towards the trees below. The harpy and brownie bobbed slightly up and down with the beat of Minnie’s wings. 

“You sure?” Minnie tilted her head as she looked down. A small bubble of anxiety was still in the pit of her stomach at putting this idea in action. Sure, she was careful with Omar and made sure her talons weren’t applying any pressure to the brownie, but she also had to make sure she wouldn’t drop him. 

“Yes, if we take the left path for most of the way then veer right, we should make it out of the woods.” 

“Okay, down we go then,” Minnie gently glided down towards the solid ground. A relieved twitter escaped her lips when Omar had successfully gotten to the ground safely. 

“Good work,” The brownie held up his hand. Minnie leaned over ever so slightly and high-fived Omar.

“Yeah, go team!” Minnie cleared her throat. She hadn’t spent too much time alone with Omar, but from their shared Home Ec class he always seemed cool.

“Shall we?” Omar gestured to the left path.

“Yeah, let’s kick the other teams’ asses!” Minnie crowed and led the way. Omar jogged beside her, his feet softly pitter pattering on the dirt. He gave a soft laugh. 

“Yeah, that would surprise them.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, we’re clearly the odd ones out in terms of why the others paired up.”

“True. But we’ll win and show that friends can win.”

Yeah,” Omar smiled up at the harpy. “The unlikely duo of a harpy and a brownie.”

Minnie returned the smile then looked back at the path. Both of them walked in silence for a little while before Minnie decided to start up a conversation. 

“So….. Omar, why do you like cooking?” Minnie paused at her own question. It felt like such a stupid thing to ask a brownie. 

Omar didn’t seem to view the question that way though. Instead of being annoyed or upset by the simple question, he gave it serious thought. “I like it because of the joy it brings.” Omar had such a gentle smile on his face as he spoke. “To see how happy my cooking makes others. It makes me feel happy. Feels like I have a gift worth pursuing that I want to pursue not because it’s something my fellow brownies say I should do, but because _I_ want to.” 

Minnie’s eyes widened, surprised by the thoughtful response. “Wow, shit. You’ve really thought it through.”

“I spend a lot of time with my thoughts,” Omar shrugged. “What about you, Minnie? Got any hidden gifts?”

“Well, ‘gift’ is a strong word. But I love singing. I wanna pursue it but I don’t know,” Minnie shook her head. “ It may just look fucking stupid to be known as a giant bird who sings.” 

“I don’t think so.”

Minnie’s eyes shot over when she heard Omar’s statement.

“I say if it makes you happy you should pursue it.”

Minnie felt her heart warm at the brownie’s words. “So,” Minnie redirected the conversation. “Think anyone else will use their innate monster abilities to get to the end?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.”

\-----

“Don’t worry, Jesse. I’ve got heightened eyesight,” James reassured his boyfriend who walked beside him. “So I won’t let anything happen to you now that-”

“Now that I’m basically blind,” Jesse sighed, his black snakes curled around the gorgon’s face, hissing softly as they searched the darkened woods. The world was already tinted darker to Jesse thanks to the special sunglasses he had to wear in order not to petrify others. But now that it was late at night, in the woods, with barely any natural light… Well, he might as well be blind.

“You’re not blind because you have _me,_ ” James smiled warmly over at his boyfriend and was met with some annoyed hisses from the snakes. “And your snakes.” The snakes moved back and forth, clearly happy with James’ correction. “Just follow my lead and everything will be okay.”

James strolled forward only to stop when he heard a soft thud beside him. Looking over, his eye grew large when he noticed that Jesse had faceplanted onto the ground. It seemed that he had tripped over a rock. A rock that James hadn’t seen. 

“Jesse, I’m sorry!” James kneeled down to help up his boyfriend. “I didn’t see that rock.

“I figured,” Jesse had a small frown on his face. “I need my glasses,” Jesse turned his face away, his eyes firmly closed. He didn’t want to risk hurting James. 

“Right, of course.” James searched the area, his eye quickly spotting the black sunglasses. Gently picking them up, he handed them back to the gorgon who gave a short thanks before placing them securely back on his face. “Ok, just give me one minute.” James didn’t wait for Jesse to respond and bolted off ahead. _Gotta make sure there are no more rocks or sticks on the path._ The cyclops made quick work throwing the rocks off the path and soon rejoined his boyfriend’s side. “I’m back.”

“What were you doing?” Jesse quirked an eyebrow. One of his snakes slithered forward and eyed the cyclops. 

“Clearing the path. You won’t be tripping again.” James slowly intertwined his fingers with Jesse’s. “You ready for a nice walk?”

“A walk? Sure. How nice it will be depends on if I trip again.”

“You won’t.” James gave Jesse’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

Jesse turned towards James with a smirk. “I was teasing.” The gorgon looked back forward. “It's always nice walking with you.”

James’ eye grew large before softening. A happy smile appeared on his lips as his face grew pink. “Well then, let’s enjoy our walk.” James declared softly before he heard another thunk. Glancing over, he noticed that he had led Jesse straight into a tree.

“Jesse!”

Jesse rubbed his face with a groan, the snakes on his head hissing and spitting angrily. “No other team can be struggling as much as us.”

\------

Brody felt her heart racing wildy as her eyes darted around the forest. It was a bit of struggle going through the dark woods. There was nothing inherently wrong with a nighttime walk through the woods. But that story Clem told had set the selkie’s heart racing. She could feel her heartbeat pounding softly in her ears as she pulled her sealskin closer to her. 

“Don't worry, Brody!” Mitch smiled over his girlfriend. “I’ll make sure nothing gets to us! If there is some fucking psycho out here, he won’t stand a chance against us!”

Brody looked up at the minotaur with a warm smile. “Yeah, you’re right.” She grabbed her boyfriend’s hand which caused the minotaur’s tail to curl around his leg. 

“I’ll punch anything that jumps out at us!” Mitch declared loudly as he walked alongside Brody.

“Just make sure it’s not one of our friends.” Brody gave a teasing smile over to her boyfriend.

Mitch returned the smile then focused on the woods ahead. His hoofs clacked softly against the dirt ground. “So, you ready for your next swim match?” The minotaur looked over to the selkie.

“Yeah, Coach Garcia has helped me out with a technique that will make my swimming even faster.”

“Heh, the competition better watch out. They’re gonna get their asses kicked this Thursday!”

“Damn right!” Brody had a proud smile on her face. She glanced down for a moment, pulling the sealskin closer around her as she stopped walking, causing Mitch to do the same. “Are you going to be able to come to the match?”

“Of course! I wouldn’t fucking miss it for the world!” Mitch’s statement made Brody look up and lock eyes with the minotaur. Getting up on tiptoes, Brody planted a soft kiss on Mitch’s cheek.

“Thanks, Mitch.”

Mitch had an excited smile on his face, his tail curling even further around his leg. “Come on, Brodes. Let’s be the first through the test of courage!”

Brody laughed goodnaturedly as she jogged to catch up to her boyfriend’s long strides. “There isn’t any prize.”

“Sure there is,”

Brody looked over with a curious expression.

“Bragging rights.”

“Alright, then let's get those bragging rights.”

“Hell yeah!” 

Mitch and Brody continued, focused entirely on making it through the forest as quickly as they could.

\----

Violet couldn’t care less how long it took to make it through the woods. It was nice here. The cool wind, the shining light of the moon. Her girlfriend’s hand in hers. She couldn’t think of a better way to spend an evening.

“It’s lovely tonight,” Prisha’s voice drew the werewolf’s attention. Her tail began to wag back and forth wildly when she saw how beautiful Prisha looked in the moonlight.

“Yeah,” Violet had a warm smile on her face as she looked at Prisha only to look away when she locked eyes with the vampire. “So, what direction should we go?”

Prisha shrugged. “I don’t have a preference. I’m quite enjoying our time in the woods.”

“Yeah, it’s nice here,” Violet’s tail swayed back and forth at a steady pace. Something about the woods always felt so comforting to Violet. Maybe it had something to do with her werewolf instincts. The stars looked super pretty tonight too. Violet’s tail wagged faster. This was the best test of courage she had ever done. It was the only one she had ever done, but the statement still held true. 

“I remember when I used to live in the woods.” Prisha smiled around at the forestry. “Those years were so peaceful. Just the calming presence of the woods and me.” Prisha let out a happy sigh. “Those decades were so tranquil.” Prisha slipped her hand out of Violet’s and strolled over to examine a tree. “There was nothing quite like it.”

“Maybe I should leave you and the woods alone,” Violet grumbled, annoyed that Prisha was no longer beside her. 

Prisha glanced over her girlfriend. “My, Violet, are you jealous of the woods?” The vampire had a teasing expression on her face.

“Why would I be jealous of some shitty trees,” Violet crossed her arms and looked away. Her words didn’t match up with her body language. Her tail had gone limp against her leg and her ears were sad and droopy. “Let’s just keep moving.” The werewolf sulked away further into the dark forest.

“Vi,” Prisha strolled forward. “You surely can’t think I was comparing these woods to you.”

Violet’s ears remained flat as she walked forward. “Doesn’t matter what I think.”

“It does to me,” Prisha reached out and grabbed Violet’s hand. Violet paused when she felt the cold embrace of the vampire’s hand. “Nothing compares to you.”

Violet looked up at Prisha with wide eyes. Her ears perked up and her tail slowly started wagging. “Except you.” Violet awkwardly rubbed the side of her arm. She shook her head. “No, wait, that sounded better in my head.” 

Prisha smiled at her girlfriend and gently captured her lips in a kiss. Violet’s eyes grew large as her tail swayed widely back and forth. She leaned into the kiss for a moment then pulled away. They looked at each other with shy smiles. Violet had grabbed both of Prisha’s hands with a happy smile on her face. She leaned her head back and let out a joyful howl that echoed throughout the woods. An evening in the woods really was the best.

\------

The woods were the worst. They were dark and scary and the sounds of creatures whispering from the trees made Louis’ skin crawl. Still, he wanted to prove that he had courage. That’s what the test was all about. He especially wanted to prove it to Clementine. He glanced over at the human who seemed comfortable strolling through the woods. 

It was so odd, how Clem made him feel. Whenever he was with her he’d get really nervous and his heart would start pounding wildly. When it first happened he had wondered if it was due to the tea he had on the way to school. But that had only happened when he had caffeine and the tea didn’t have that. After observing the others, Louis figured he had what they had: love sickness. _Is that the right term?_ Louis cocked his head to the side in thought when he noticed Clementine look over at him. The pair glanced at each other then shared a quick smile before looking away. There it was again. His heart was acting wild, he could feel his face heating up too.

“So, think we’ll finish first?” Clementine glanced over at the frankenstein.

“Yeah! We’ll show them what we’re capable of.” Louis had a confident smile on his face. 

“Not scared of the woods?” Clementine had a playful smile on her lips.

“Who, me? Nah,” Louis shook his head and flashed the biggest smile he could. “The woods should be scared of me!” He lifted up his arm and flexed it.

Clementine chuckled. “They should be terrified.”

“Exactly,” Louis strode forward, a new wave of confidence coursing through his veins. Clementine joined his side when all of the sudden a howl echoed throughout the woods, causing some of the birds to fly up from their nests and into the sky. “Ahhh!’ Louis yelped and jumped into Clementine’s arms. 

Clementine could feel her heart racing but it wasn’t because of the sound. It was the fact that Louis was in her arms. She could feel her face heating up when she noticed out of the corner of her eye that one of Louis’ hands had come off and was flying through the air. Pivoting her legs, she reached out one of her hands and caught the loose limb. 

She looked at the frankenstein’s hand wriggling within her own. This wasn’t exactly how she envisioned holding Louis’ hand for the first time. When she first came to Ericson, she wasn’t sure if she’d get along with the monsters. But now here she was in  
the woods holding the monster she had caught feelings for. Clementine shook herself out of her thoughts. She needed to focus.

“Thanks, Clem!” Louis’s cheery voice made the human turn her head to look towards the frankenstein. That’s when she noticed how close their faces were. Both of their faces took on a shade of blush as they looked away.

“I’m just glad you’re okay.” Clementine set down Louis who brushed off his clothes when he noticed he was missing one of his appendages. He turned his head wildly, making his dreadlocks bounce here and there.

“Need a hand?” Clementine twisted her hand back and forth, displaying the hand.

“Oh, thanks.” Louis took the hand and reattached it with a small pop. “Gotta had some more stitches next time.” The two smiled at each other for a few seconds too long then both glanced away again.

“So, shall I take the lead?” Clementine gestured to the path in front of them.

“I couldn’t think of a better guide.” Louis soon followed Clem, leaning closer to her whenever there was a sound that spooked him. Clementine noticed the frankenstein’s nerves and decided to lighten the mood with some casual conversation. The pair soon got caught up in their talks, so much so they barely noticed when they made it to the finish line. Only two other pairs were there so far.

“That’s bullshit,” Mitch huffed, his tail flicking back and forth. “Brody and I totally got here first!”

“Oh really?” Jesse had a smug smirk on his face. “Because how I remember it is that you two showed up after us.”

“Guys, come on, there’s no need to fight,” James tried to step between them and waved his hands back and forth.

“Mitch, it’s not a big deal.” Brody added from the sidelines.

“It is to me! I-” Mitch stopped when he noticed Clem and Louis. “Looks like others are showing up.”

The others turned and saw the frankenstein and human giggling with each other, still not noticing the other monsters.

“They’re cute,” James smiled as he watched.

“They’re dumbasses,” Mitch shook his head. “Just gotta go for it.”

“Says the minotaur that got asked out instead of doing the asking.” Jesse smirked.

Mitch was about to speak up but Brody beat him to it. “Hey, you two over here!” She waved at Louis and Clem who waved back and strolled over.

“Hey, guys! Looks like we made it through the test of courage!” Louis smiled proudly.

“Is it just you guys so far?’ Clementine asked before glancing back at the woods.

“Yeah, I’m sure the others aren’t far behind though,” James said with an optimistic expression. The three pairs sat down in the clearing and waited for the others.

Minnie and Omar were the next pair to make it through. Both were smiling and talking about something when Omar noticed the others. The next couple didn’t appear out of the woods but rather on the outer perimeter. Ruby and Aasim quickly let go of each other’s hands when they noticed the others. The dryad and fire elemental soon joined the group and got caught up in discussing the beauty of the woods when they heard an excited crow. No one even had to look to know it was Sophie. The harpy flew up in the air and did some quick circles before landing beside the dullahan again, exclaiming proudly how they weren’t last place. After a few more minutes, Prisha and Violet appeared from the woods. Both seemed perfectly content with taking their time. The werewolf’s tail wagged happily as she strolled forward with the vampire.

“Are we last?” Prisha looked around at the others. “Damn, how unfortunate.” The other monsters shared a look; it was clear based on the vampire’s expression that she didn’t mean it. 

“Well, looks like everyone made it through.” Clementine looked around her circle of friends.

“Yep!” Sophie chirped. “We showed that test of courage who was boss!”

“We should do a victory cheer!” Louis’ suggestion had all the monsters unsure as he stuck his hand in the middle of the circle.

“Sounds good to me,” Clementine added her hand into the circle and caught the teasing look in Violet’s eyes. “What?”

“Nothing.” Violet shrugged and added her hand. One by one the other monsters added their hands into the pile.

“Goooooooo, monster pals!” Louis shoot his hand in the air along with others who look confused by the cheer. 

“We definitely need a better cheer,” Violet shook her head.

“Well, we could always make a new one one next time.” Clementine offered.

“Oh? Are we gonna do this again?” Sophie bounced excitedly on her talons.

“Only if the rest of you want to.”

The group of monsters started to grow loud, each monster adding in their opinion until it was decided upon. This wouldn’t be the only test of courage these young monsters would face. As Clementine glanced around at her friends, she could tell that they were excited for next time, whenever that might be.


End file.
